The Red Devils are overhauling things behind the scenes as they attempt to catch up with the rest of football. Manchester United fell behind following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in the same way Liverpool did in the late 1980s and early 1990s following Kenny Dalglish’s exit from Anfield.

Now, the Red Devils hope to appoint a sporting director to bring top talent to Old Trafford.

However, the announcement that Ferdinand is in the running for the position has led many Manchester United fans to question what credentials the club are actually looking for.

Rio Ferdinand as Manchester United Sporting Director

According to the Daily Mail, Ferdinand, a pundit for BT Sport currently, is the leading candidate to become sporting director at Old Trafford.

Ferdinand isn’t the only ex-Red Devil to be considered for a role at Manchester United. Paul Scholes is being linked with a position and current assistant manager Mike Phelan is expected to become the club’s technical director.

The Metro speculates that Ferdinand would negotiate player transfers while Phelan and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would identify targets.

According to reports, Ferdinand’s post-football business career has given Woodward hope that he can fulfil the role.

Ferdinand has had his hand in fashion, food, and music since retiring. Despite the success he has found, questions should be asked over how involved Ferdinand is with the day-to-day running of those businesses and their financial sides.

The former Manchester United player may just invest and put his name on brands and reap rewards rather than work intently to develop the companies. Plenty of ex-players invest in projects and use their names as a vehicle to sell products and services.

Manchester United supporters unhappy with Rio Ferdinand links

In the wake of reports of Ferdinand being Manchester United’s No. 1 candidate for the sporting director role, supporters have responded unhappily on Twitter.

In the past week, we’ve had rumours that Mike Phelan will become our technical director. Then, we had rumours that Darren Fletcher will organise the recruitment. Now, we’ve got rumours that Rio Ferdinand will be our new DOF. What’s next, Bebe for chief scout?

Reports of Rio Ferdinand being United's new Sporting Director! He's a decent pundit and ex World Class Defender but come on…..We're Manchester United. The old boys job for the boys nonsense needs to stop. Go and get the best who are qualified to do the job for God's sake

Rio Ferdinand’s former Manchester United teammates Gary Neville and Paul Scholes have already found out how difficult working inside a football club can be. Neville unsuccessfully managed Valencia while Scholes lasted just 31 days as Oldham Athletic manager earlier this year.